Dusting apparatus



, May 9, 1944. J. A. CHATER 2,348,205

DUSTING APPARATUS I Filed July 25, 1940 7 Sheets-Shet 1 IN V EN TOR.

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DUSTING APPARATUS Filed July 25, 1940 'r Sheets-Sheet 7 2 1% mfifaz;

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Qatari) Patented May 9, 1944 2,348,205 nus'rmc. APPARATUS Y John A. Chater, Medina, N. Y., assignor to Niagara Sprayer and Chemical 00., Inc., Middleport, N. Y., a corporation Application July 25, 1940, Serial No. 347,534

22 Claims.

The invention relates to powder dispensing apparatus and 'more particularly to a hand blower or dust gun designed for dispensing insecticide;

fungicide or the like.

One of the principal objects of the invention is toprovide a dust gun which may be conveniently heldor supported by the operator in such a manner that the discharge nozzle may be rotated so as to discharge in any direction in a vertical plane, that is to say, downward, upward or rearward.

Another feature of the present device resides in the simplicity of the design; the arrangement being symmetrical and the essential parts being in alignment on a horizontal axis. By such an arrangement the fan case does not han down below the hopper as is the case with many devices which feed out of the bottom of the hopper.

In order to accomplish the swivelling of the nozzle referred to above a special feeding device has-been developed which feeds dust from a hopper into a blower fan in any position which the gun may assume in rotation about its horizontal axis. This special feeding device serves to pick up dust from any part of the hopper which at the ,moment may be at the bottom and delivers the dust horizontally into the fan case at a point near the center of the fan, the axis of the fan coinciding with the axis of the dust hopper.

In order that the gun may be conveniently held by the operator and at the same time swivelled as above indicated when desired, a harness is provided fitting over the shoulders of the operator which harness is attached to the gun in a special manner so as to permit the gun to be swivelled or rotated' about its horizontal axis.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description which are intended as illustrative of the inventive thought rather than as limiting the invention to the particular details set forth therein.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the dust gun equipped with the supporting harness.

Fig. 2 is an axial section of the righthand portion of the dust gun, parts being shown in elevation.

Fig. 2a is an axial section of theleft hand portion of the gun, parts being shown in elevation; Y

Fig.8 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows and showing the operating gearing.

Fig. 6 is a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation showing the gearing.

Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views illustrating the operation and use of the dust gun.

Referring in detail to the drawings,- reference numeral I denotes a cylindrical body or casing housing the entire assembly. This body is preferably composed of light weight sheet material but any suitable material may be employed. This body or casing encloses the hopper portion A at the left of the gun as indicated in Fig. 2a, a feeding device generally. designated at B (Fig. 2), a fan case 0 and an air inlet space or chamber D and a gear box E. The body I constitutes the outer cylindrical wall for all of these'parts.

In operation the dust gun is generally held in substantially horizontal position and the cylindrical wall is provided with vertical partitions at intervals separating the principal portions of the gun from one another. At the extreme left there is provided a disc shaped end wall 2 which constitutes one wall of the hopper unit. The feeding device B is located at the right hand portion of the hopper and a disc or partition 3 separates the dust hopper and feeding device from the fan case C, and provides a common wall for the hopper and fan case having perforations through which dust is designed to be fed by means of the feeding unit. A suitable disc 4 having a central opening separates the fan case 0 from the air inlet chamber D. A disc 5 separates the air inlet chamber D from the gear box E. A disc 6 constitutes the end wall for the gun and also the end wall for the gear case.

A main drive shaft 1 extends through the entire length of the n and is located at the central axis of the cylinder. This shaft may be rotated by any suitable means such as the hand crank 8. which is secured to one end thereof. The

drive shaft 1 is shown as lournaled in the ends of bushings 9 which are held in bearing retainers l0, these in turn being welded to the end walls or discs 2 and 6. A felt washer il may be placed over the shaft just inside of the bearing 9 at the left hand end of the gun, this hearing being held in place by one of a pair of hubs l2 of a rake assembly l3. Dust may be inserted in the gun through a suitable cover shown as hinged at I4 and which may be tightly secured by means of a suitable locking device l5. When closed this cover is dust tight in all positions of the gun. When the hand crank 8 is rotated the rake assembly ll tends to. force dust toward the right hand end of the hopper due to the inclined position of the rake teeth l3a.

Dust which has either been forced toward the right hand end of the hopper by the action of the rake I! or which is already in the right hand end when the hopper is full, will be drawn into the feeder assembly B at points around the periphery of the feeder disc i6 by the action of the inclined blades I! which are inclined outwardly toward the left hand end of the gun from the disc it near its outer edge. These inclined blades ll tend to force dust toward the right hand side of the feeder disc l5 through openings or notches in the edge of the disc back of the blades i1 and by this action the feeder tends to fill or at .least partially fill the chamber formed between the feeder disc l6 and the partition 3 separating the hopper from the fan case.

It will be noted that there are also curved blades or arms l8 attached-to the feeder disc it near the center thereof and projecting topick up dust from the bottomof the hopper I when the gun is only partially filled. They also serve to elevate dust to the top of the gun and thereby tend to fill the-space between the feeder disc l6 and the partition 3.

When the dust gun is full of dust or when the feed is shut off or only slightly open it is found that there is a tendency for the space between the feeder disc and the partition 3-to become filled with dust and, in the absence of special provisions to avoid this, the dust would become packed in this space to the point where it would all rotate in one solid cake and little or no dust would pass through the feed openings i9, Ilia of the partition separating the hopper from the fan casing. As a means for largely offsetting this packing action openings 20 are provided in the feeder disc at a predetermined distance from the center as best illustrated in Fig. 4. These openings 20 are formed by bending out portions of the disc ii at a suitable angle to form vanes or blades 2|, this angle being opposite in direction to the angle of the blades I'I. Accordingly when a predetermined amount of dust has worked into the feed chamber the'vanes 2| and the holes 20 will allow dust to be returned to the hopper through the openings 20, the vanes 2| serving to push away the dust in the hopper ahead of the openings 20 as the disc is turned thereby providing room in the hopper for dust to emerge.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 there are eight feed holes l9, I911 in the partitions separating the hopper and the fan case and most of the dust comes out through the upper holes, that is the holes which are in the upper position at the particular moment due to the position of the curved feeder arms I 8 run close to the surface of the cylinder 22 in order to retain the dust so far as possible, but the dust is further retained between the partition 3 and the feeder disc It. It has been found that the return holes 20 are quite effective in eliminating packing of dust in the feed compartment.

It has been found that there is a considerable difference in the action of the gun when full and when nearly empty. When full, dust may enter'the feed compartment from all four of .the blades at one time so that the feed compartment rapidly becomes full. At such time the return holes 20 with their vanes 2| serve a most useful fimction. The action of the vanes 2! in pushing away the dust and leaving a free passage for the dust through the holes 20 is very important and allows dust to be returned through these openings even when the gun is nearly full, although these openings are all-below the surface'of the dust when the gun is completely full. It is important to keep the dust in the chamber loose and if it is not packed too much in the feed compartment it will be found that the rotation of the arms I8 is sufficient to accomplish the desired purpose. Since the spaces between these arms are not entirely filled the dust first falls toward the center, that is toward the shaft 1 when the arms are at the top, and will fall away from the center when these arms are at the bottom. This alternate shifting back and forth of the dust has a. tendency to keep the dust loose.

In general the gun will feed most dust when nearly filled, although when completely filled there may be enough packing action to make it fall oil slightly in the quantity discharged. It is not contended therefore that the present device provides an absolutely constant feed at all times. The present feeder is designed to feed dust into the fan at a point near the axis and to keep the dust loose enough in order to enable it to function satisfactorily.

As shown the feed control plate 23 is attached at its center to the partition plate 3 by means of a grommet 24 through which the shaft I passes. The feed control plate 23 can therefore be rotated with reference to the plate 3 thereby opening or closing the feed openings l9, 19a

.of the arms l8 which pass over these feed openings are bent back slightly in order to force the t toward the feed openings by reason of the inclined position of the edges of the blades. This arrangement is not absolutely necessary but is found to be advantageous in the present device permitting more dust to be fed. The dust passes into the fan case C through the combined openings l9, 19a which are relatively near the center of the fan and the dust is blown out with the air through a discharge pipe into a spout 25 (Figs 1, 2 and 3). a

The air chamber D is bounded by the partition plates 4 and 5 which are spaced a sufilcient dis- I trated in Figs. 1 and 2.

a central air inlet 21 in the disc 4 which is concentric with the axis of the gun.

A fan runner 20 is formed by welding radial, blades, herein. shown as five in number, upon-a tube 23 which in turn is mounted upon the shaft 1 by means of roller bearings llLpermitting relative movement between the fan and shaft. A driving pinion 3| is also mounted upon the tube 29 on the end which is shown as projecting through the partition I into the gear box. A train of other gears, shown in detail in Figs- 6 and 7, is meshed with pinion 3| so as to drive the tube 23 and the fan runner 28 at a very high speed even when the crank 3 is turned at a relatively low speed, power being transmitted through a main drive gear 33 which is rigidly connected to the shaft I.

The usual discharge pipe and nozzle 50, 5| are connected to the discharge 2! of the blower casing as shown in Figs. 1, 7 and 8.. Any type of discharge pipe and nozzle may be employed including, if desired, rigid and flexible tubular con nections. Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate how the discharge pipe may be pointed in various directions by rotating the gun. In order to permit such rotation while the gun is supported by a harness or the like carried by the operator, a suitable means of suspension has been designed. The bearing holders ill at opposite ends of the shaft 1 are made circular in form and each has a groove 3! turned on the outside. A stirrup or hook 35 is attached to the strap harness 35 which is adapted to be worn by the operator, in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 7 and 8. The operator places this harness over his shoulders in the same manner that he would put on a vest. The free ends of the harness straps are attached to the buckles of the harness as indicated in Fig.8. This allows the stirrups 35 to hang down on each side of the operator and point toward the front at about the same position that the points of a man's vest would assume if he opened it outwardly and pulled the points forward and downward. The enlarged portions of the stirrups indicated at 31- are first placed over the ends of the bearing holders and the holders then drop down to the smaller parts of the stirrups 38 so that the stirrups cannot slide oif of the bearing holders. It will be noted that the gun will be supported by these two stirrups one at each end of the gun thus permitting the gun to be rotated at will upon its axis while supported in the stirrups.

In order to assist in this rotation a handle 52 may be attached over the outside of the discharge pipe 50 just beyond the spout or nozzle 25 of the fan case. may be adjusted up and down the discharge pipe or handle of the pipe. This handle is intended to be held by the operator's left hand so that in dust ng downwardly and forwardly he would have something to holdv on to and to support the weight of the discharge pipe 50 when in this position or when pointing the discharge pipe upward. When the discharge pipe is placed behind, as indicated in Fig. 8, the handle may be ignored. In supporting the pipe or in rotating the gun the operator grasps the handle in his left hand after reaching across the top of the gun and grasps the gun with his right hand. It is found that this arrangement supports the gun firmly against the cranking efiort of the right hand.

It has been found desirable to provide an opening through the partition 3 from the feed compartment into the fan case and for this pur- This handle is swivelly mounted and is near the. periphery of the fan. case so that air pressure is maintained at this point in the fan,

chamber. This aperture is so placed that when the feed control plate 23 is turned so as to close hole I31. to allow air to be forced from the fan case into the dust hopper'and to assist in discharging dust through the feed openings. The aperture also compensates for air lost from the hopper by the I discharge of dust, since the cover of the hopper is practically air tight. Byreason of this discharge of air into the dust hopperit is possible to maintain a much larger feed of dust than would be possible without the aperture. The reason-for covering the aperture I31 when the feed of dust is shut off is that when the crank is turned with the dust feed shut ofi air would be blown into the hopper and force dust out into the opei'ators face when the cover is opened. The provision of this aperture I31 and the automatic control of the same contributes to the success ofthe operation of the present device. Also suihcient air works into the dust hopper even when this hole is at the bottom of the gun, as will be the case in certain positions of the gun, although its eilect is not quite so pronounced as when the aperture is in an upper position and no dust covers the hole. It may also be noted that if the hole were not coveredwhen the feed is shut of! any movement of the hand crank would 4 feed dust through this opening since there would not beair pressure enough in the fan case to prevent dust passing through the hole into the fan. In this manner a large quantity of dust might be collected in the fan case which would then spill out of the discharge nozzle or even out of the fan air inlet opening.

- In order to operate the feed control plate 23 a slot 53 is formed in the cylindrical body of the gun adjacent the partition 3 and running circumferentally around the gun for a suitable distance preferably about 1%". A special screw 39 having an enlarged rectangular head 54 is passed through the slot 53 and through a small slot 55 in the bent over end 56 of the feed control plate 23. The ong side of the screw head 54 lies against the bent over portion 56 of the plate and thus prevents the screw from turning. The screw projects through the slot 53 in the hopper, thence through a small flat piece of spring brass 40 and then through a feed slide cover I. This cover 4| is recessed so that the part 40 can slide in the recess-between the hopper body and the slide cover. Thus the slide 40 covers up the slot in the h pper and prevents leakage of dust through th slot. The slide 40 is made sufiiciently long to cover the slot in the hopper regardless of the position of the feed control plate 23 and the screw 39. A spring piece preferably of brass I2 is placed on top of'the slide cover II and the screw 39 passes through an aperture in this spring member. A nut 51 is fitted in place upon the screw against the spring member 42 thus placing a tension upon the screw 39 through res lience of the member 42. As shown the spring piece 42 is rolledup at oneend to form a handle 58 which may be pushed or pulled as desired in. order to change the positionof the the feed control plate to be set" in any position.

- '3 Dose asrna'll hole I31, suitably about 1''" in diameter is drilled through the partition as indicated'in Fig. 3. It will be noted that this hole It will be. noted that according to the present construction the feeding means is operable at substantially all positions to which the hopper may be rotated. ,It is obviously capableof operation when the hopper is rotated through an angle of 180? or more, as distinguished from'priorx devices in whichthe feeding means becomes-1m nozzle of the fan'case so as to be tangentially'in the opposite direction, to place the fan at the left hand end of the gun with the crank on the Preferred materials,

' eally as a couple is produced by having one hand 'at each end of the gun. I claim:

1. A hand blower gun comprising a tubular casing adapted tobe supported in a horizontal position 'and housing a dust hopper, a blower fan, and means for feeding dust from the hopper to the blower, axially aligned bearing members at the ends of said casing, means for rotatably supporting the casing in said bearingv members for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the casing, and an outlet pipe communicating with the fan, rigidly securedto the curved outer wall right hand. when so constructed, howemr, it is not as easy to hold the nozzle in the proper position and still hold the gun against cranking effort of the right hand as in the preferred embodiment herein set forth.

., The feeder disc l6 does not necessarily have the opening 20 although for reasons herein set forth such opening is highly desirable. Furtherof said casing, and adapted to assume different angular positions in a vertical plane on rotation of the casing about its longitudina1 axis. a

2. In a device, of the character described, a

tubular hopper for powder, a fan casing with a peripheral outlet on one end of said hopper,

means for supporting the hopper generally horizontally while allowing the hopper to be rotated about its axis, means for feeding dust from the hopper into said fan case, such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper through an angle of at least 180,

-a' runner in said fan case and means for rotating said runner and operating said powder feed means.

3. In a device of the character described, a tubular hopper generally horizontally supported for rotation about its axis, a fan casing attached to more the'feeder arms It may be made nearly radial and may have very little curve at their outer ends but the present arrangement is-found to be preferable. The preferred arrangement of parts,however, assists in ovrcoming packing of the dust'in the feed compartment and permits greater flexibility in the type and quantity'of dust fed.

Various means for permitting rotation of the gun while supported by the harness may. be employed although the use of the grooved bearing members It has been found to be very satisfactory. For example it would be possible to. mountthe gun in .two'rings extending around the outside of the gun at both ends and to pivot the, gun' in these rings instead of on the bearing holder II as herein set forth.

The feed rake l3, lia may be varied in con struction without departing from the essential features ofthe invention. Various types of closures for the hopper may be employed. For example, a sliding door might be used instead of a hinged closure but the present arrangement is satisfactory from the standpoint of securing a fluid tight fit and is employed in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Other modifications and variations will suggest themselves to those skilled in the'art within the scope of the accompanying claims.

One of the very important advantages of the device of the present invention is the arrangement and construction of the parts which, in the operation of' the machine, permits the lefthand to-counteract the effort of the right hand while one end of said hopper and rotatable with it, the

axis of the fan coinciding. with the axis of the hopper, an outlet near the periphery of the fan case, means for feeding powder from the hopper into said fan case, such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper through an angle of at least 180, a runner in said fan case and means for rotating said runner and operating said powder feeding means.

4. In a device of the character described. a tubular hopper for powder, a fan casing on one end of said hopper, a peripheral discharge outlet in said fan casing, bosses on each end of this hopper and fan case assembly, said bosses being substantially concentric with the axis of the hopper, aharness to be worn by the operator, means on said harness to engage said bosses to support the hopper with its axis generally horizontal while allowing the bosses to rotate on said engaging means, means for feeding powder from the hopper into the fan case, such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper through an angle of at least 180, a runner in said fan case and means for rotating said runner and operating said powder feeding means.

5. In a device of the character described, a tubular hopper for powder, means for supporting the hopper for rotation about a generally horizontal internal longitudinal axis, a fan case on one end of said hopper, a discharge outlet from said fan case, means for feeding powder from said hopper into said fan case, such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper through an angle of at least a runner in said fan case and means for rotating said-runner and operating said feeding means.

6. In a device of the character described, a tubular hopper for powder, means for supporting the hopper for rotation about a generally horizontal internal longitudinal axis, a duct attached to said hopper for directing a discharge of powder in a stream in a plane forming an angle with said horizontal axis, means for feeding a controlled quantity of powder from said hopper into said duct. such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper through an angle of at least 180, means for propelling the dust from said duct and means for operating said powder propelling means and said powder feeding means.

7. In a device of the character described, a tubular hopper for powder,,a harness adapted to be worn by the operator, said harness incorporating means for supporting said hopper for rotation about a generally horizontal internal longitudinal axis, a duct for discharge of dust, means for feeding powder from said hopper into said duct, such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper through an-angle of at least 180, means for propelling the powder from said duct and means for operating said propelling and said feeding means.

8. In a device of the character described, a, hopper for powder, a fan case adjacent said hopper, a transmission case on the side of said fan case away from said hopper and spaced therefrom to allow free entry of air into the fan case, means for supporting the hopper, fan ease and transmission case assembly for rotation about a generallyhorizontal axis, a discharge duct for directing powder in a plane which forms a substantial angle with said axis; a runner in said fan case, transmission means in driving connection with said runner in said transmission case, means for feeding powder from said hopper into said fan case, such means being capable of operation for all positions of rotation of the hopper, fan case and gear assembly through an angle of at least 180, and means for operating said transmission means and said feeding means. 7

9. In a device of the character described, a hand gunfor distribution of powder, a to be worn by the operator, bosses on each side of said gun, grooves about the periphery of said bosses, and 'stirrups attached to said harness for supporting the gun by engagement in the grooves in said bosses; whereby the gun may be rotated in the stirrups which are oil the bosses by the grooves.

10; In a device of the character described, a hand gun for distribution of powder, a harness to be worn by the operator including two straps passing over the shoulders crossing at the back, and brought forward under the arms, said straps being made endless by adjustable means for joinvlrtue of their engagement in ing their ends, and means attached to said straps in front at each side of the operator for supporting the gun, said supporting means allowing'rotation of the gun about a generally horizontal 11. In a device of the character'described, a tubular hand gun for distribution of powder, a harness to be worn by the operator, including means for supporting the gun for rotation about a generally horizontal internal longitudinal axis, a discharge pipe extending in a, plane which forms an angle with said axis, means for forcibly feeding powder through said gun to the discharge pipe, and an adjustable handle on said discharge pipe for steadying the gun and rotating it about said axis.

12. In a device of the character described, a cylindrical hand gun for distribution of powder, a hand crank at one end of said gun, powder feedn means within said gun actuated by said hand crank and adapted to force powder through a,

discharge pipe, a powder discharge pipe interprevented from slipping crank, and means for supportingcthe gun for rotation about a central horizontal axis.

13. In a hand blower gun for distribution of powder, a hopper, a fan case and a transmission case all cylindrical and with their axes in a common line and arranged in the order named with an air space between the fan case and the transmission case, means for feeding powder from the hopper to the fan case, a runner in the fan case, an axial air inlet'i'rom the air space to the fan case, transmission meansin the transmission case for rotating the runner, a discharge pipe extending from tne periphery of the fan case, a hand crank at the transmission case end of the gun for operating the transmission and the feeding means, a harness to be worn by the operator including means for supporting the gun for rotation,

about its axis, an'adjustabie handle on said discharge pipe for steadying and rotating the gun.

14. In a device of tne character described, a cylindrical hopper for powder with an end wall, a disc mounted in said hopper for rotation about the axis of said hopper, generally radial blades attached by one side to the face of said disc their free sides being in close juxtaposition to the face of saidwall, their outer ends being curved forward in the direction of rotation, perforations through said wall arranged substantially symmetrically about the axis of rotation of the disc; whereby rotation of the disc will cause powder to be scooped up by the curved blades and brushed past said perforations causing some powder to pass through said perforations, said action being the same no matter in what position of rotation about its axis the hopper is held while the axis is generally horizontaland the hopper partially filled,

15. In a device of the character described, a cylindrical hopper for powder with an end wall, a circular plate having a diameter a little less than the inside diameter of the hopper mounted for rotation about the axis of said cylindrical hopper said plate having a center portion embossed axially away from the end wall and openings about its periphery, generally radial blades attached to the concave side of theplateby one side, their other sides being in close juxtaposition to said end wall, their outer ends being bent forwardin the direction of rotation, other'openings through the plate between the blades at a predetermined distance from the center said openings being provided with shields projecting from the convex side of the plate ahead, in the direction of rotation, of each opening to keep the opening clear for egress of powder from between the plate and the end wall, perforations through said end wall arranged substantially symmetrically about the hopper axis and nearer the axis than the shielded openings in the plate; whereby rotation of the plate while the hopper is held with axis generally horizontal will cause the blades to scoop up powder when at the bottom and maintain a dust layer between any two blades at the top deep enough in spite of excess spilling out of the shielded openings to brush powder through the perforations in said end wall and whereby excess powder between the plate and the end wall is constantly circulated into the space between the plate and the end wall at the periphery of the plate, and out of said space through said shielded openings when the hopper is relatively full toprevent packing of the powder mediate the ends of the gun extending from and the action being the same for all positions of cylindrical hopper for powder with an end wall,

a fan case on the outside of said end wall, perforations through said wall from the hopper into the suction region of the fan case for feeding powder to the fan, an additional perforation through the end wall from the hopper into the pressure region of the fan case, means in the hopper for brushing dust past said feeding D rforations, a runner in said fan case, means for operating said feedingmeans and said runner; a plate normally covering said perforations and adapted for movement to uncover the perfora tions in both the suction and pressure. regions at substantially the same time; whereby a pressure differential is maintained between the hopp r and the fan case to promote feeding of dust when perforations are uncovered and spilling of "dust into the fan case is prevented when perforations are covered. 7

17. In a device of the character described, a cylindrical hopper for powder with an end wall, a fan case on the outside of said end wall, powder feeding perforations through said end wall near the axis of the cylinder into the suction region of said fan case, an additional air pressure perforation through said wall nearer the circumference of the hopper into the pressure region of the fan case, a regulator plate pivoted near the center of the end wall, said plate having perforations correspondingwith the feed perforations of the end wall and a generally radial portion,

positioned to. swing over the air pressure per-V foratiomthe feed perforations and the air perforation being, normally covered by the plate, means for brushing powder past said feed per-. forations, a runner in saidfan case and means to operate said brushing means and said runner; whereby swinging said regulator plate will uncover the air pressure perforations andthe feed perforations at substantially the same time thus maintaining a pressure diii'erentialbetween the hopper and the fan case to promote feeding of powder when the perforations are open and prevent spilling of powder into the fan case when the perforations are closed.

18. A blower gun comprising a tubular casing housing a dust hopper and a dust blower, means for supporting the casing for rotation about a generally horizontal internal longitudinal axis, means for feeding dust from the hopper to the blower, and a powder discharge pipe communicating with the blower and rigidly secured to the curved wall of said casing, whereby the outlet pipe assumes different angular positions in a vertical plane on rotation of the casing about its axis.

19. A hand blower gun for distribution of powder, comprising a cylindrical shell having end walls and intermediate partitions across said shell defining between them a hopper, a fan case,

an air chamber and a transmission chamber, in the order named, means for feeding dust from the hopper into the fan case, a runner in the fan case, an opening in that portion of the shell surrounding the air chamber for admitting air thereto from the exterior, an axial air inlet leading from the air chamber to the fan casing, transmission means' within the transmission chamber for rotating the runner, a discharge .duct from the periphery of the fan case, and a hand crank at one end of the gun in driving connection with the feeding means and the transmission means.

20. In a hand blower gun for distribution of powder, a cylindrical shell of substantially uniform crosssection having end walls and intermediate spaced disc-shaped partitions peripherally contacting the curved interior of said shell and deilning between them a dust hopper, a fan case, an air chamber and a transmission chamber, in the order named, mechanical means for positivelyfeeding dust from the hopper into the fan casingfrom one side thereof, a runner in said fan case apertures in the shell for admitting air from the exterior of the gun directly to said air chamber, and anaxial inlet from the-air chammission means, and a discharge pipe leading from the periphery of the fan case, and located adjacent the crank end of the gun,

'21. Ina hand blower gun. a'hopper, a fan case. and a transmission case arranged end to end in the order named withan air space between the fan case and thetron case, a shaft extending lengthwise through this assembly and Joumaled therein, means in said hopper operated by said shaft'for feeding powder from the hopper into said fan case, a runner in the fan case journaled on said shaft, an axial air inlet from said air space into said fan case. a discharge from the fanfcase; transmission means in said transmission'case for rotating said runner and driven by said shaft and means outside the gun for driving said shaft.

22. In a device of the character described, a tubular hand gun for distribution of powder haying a hand crank for operation by one hand at one end of the gun; a harness to be worn by the operator including means for supporting the gun for rotation about a generally horizontal internal longitudinal axis; a discharge pipe extending in a plane which forms an angle to said axis from near the same-end of the gun as the crank; an adjustable handle for the other hand on the discharge pipe for steadying and rotating the gun and means for forcibly feeding powder through said gunto the discharge pipe.

J OHN A. CHATER. 

